Shipping-crate.



G. E.'WHFTE.

SHIPPING CRATE. APPLICATION man 0m11.191s.

1 ,278,409. Patented sept. 1o, 191B.'

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Y INVENTOH Geo/jy@ E. .Malla WTN ESSES ATTOR NEY G. E. WHITE.

SHIPPING CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. a. 191s;

Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

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GEORGE E. WHITE, 0F GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA.

SHIPPING-CRATE.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known `that I, GEORGE E. WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Island,-in the county of Hall and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Shipping- Crates, of which the following is a specification.v

This invention relates to shipping crates, and particularly to a crate designed espe-l ciallyy for shipping poultry, and has for its particular object to form a crate with collapsible sides and ends, which, when the crate isy in erect or operative condition are secured to eachother and to the top by keys,fpins, or other means passed through openings in eyes or loops on the parts to be connected, which parts when the keys or pins are removed may with the top be folded inwardlyl upon the vbottom of the coop thereby forming a much smaller package, and one that will `occupy inuch less space than thecoop when in erected condi'- tion.

Another object 'of the invention is to provide aco'llap'sible coop,fthe "sidesfand ends of which are each mfade of a single rectangular frame of heavy wire or lightv bar iron covered with iron netting and hinged to the bottom and 'also to provide a' top formed preferably of two similar frames hinged together to permit access to the coop and one of said frames hinged to an end of the coop. The top isv also provided with one or more small doors to give access to the coop and each o-f said doors and the hinge' portion of the cover are 'maintained closedy by springs. g

A further object of the invention is to pro-vide a collapsible coop havinga solid wooden or metal bottom to which is hingedfolding Sides and ends and a folding partition to divide the coop into two independent compartments, and a ytop for the coop hinged to one end, all of said parts being foldable upon the bottom to render the coop less bulky so that it will occupy less space for return shipping than when forwarded in erected position and filled with poultry.

Vith the above as the principal objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrange- Specficaton of Letters Iilatent.

Patented Sept. 10, 1918.

Application filed December 8, 1916. Serial No. 135,880.

ment of parts hereinafter'l described, pointed out in vthe claims, and illustrated in the ac-v companying drawings, in w'hich- Figure l is a plan view of the crate in erected position, v

Fig. 2 is a side elevation vof the same,

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the crate through the center,

Fig. i is a vertical transverse sectional view of the crate, and

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the crate as it appears when collapsed.l and folded for return shipment.

In the drawings, l0 indicates the bottom of the crate or coop which 'may be formed of sheet metal or wood as desired and which may be strengthened by longitudinal bars 11 extend-ing substantially from end to end, and here shown as made of heavy wire or light iron. These bars, however, may be made of wood 'if desired or found prefere able.

The coop is provided with sides '1 2 extend#y ing fromy end to endk of the bottom 10 each of which is formed of a rectangular frame 1,3 made of heavy wire or light bar iron bentV to shape, the ends being welded togetherto form a complete frame. This'frame is conncctedl to the bottom l0 at its lower edge by hinges 14 and the entire side covered with wire netting'l ofany` desired mesh.

16 indicates the ends of the coop made of bar iron or heavy wire each bent into rectangular form, covered with wire netting 17 and hinged at 18 to the ends of the bottom l0. The ends 1G have each a length transversely of the coop equal to or slightly less thanv the distance between the inner sides of the sides 1Q so that when folded or collapsed, the ends may swing downwardly upon the bottom and' within the sides.

The top of the coop is formed of two rectangular frames 19 and 20 of similar construction to the sides and ends, and like them, covered with wire netting. The two portions of the top are joined together by loops, rings or other forms of hinges 21 which will enable one part of the top t0 be folded upon the other when the coop is to be' collapsed. Preferably as shown in the drawing, the top frame 20. is smaller than the frame 19 and is provided with a door 22 to close an opening in the top, and hinged at 23 to the frame 20 and maintained closed by a spring 24, here shown as a coil spring wound about the hinge section of the door frame and bearing at its ends respectively on the coop and on the door. A similar door 25 is formed in the top frame 19 at the opposite end of the coop and is maintained closed by a similar spring 26. The doorsras shown are made of a rectangular frame of wire 27 covered with netting.

Secured to the top bar of the two side frames 12 are two or more eyes or loops'28 which when the crate is in erected position as shown in the drawing aline with similar eyes or loops 29 on thesides of the top frame 19. These alining loops or eyes are connected together by keys, split pins or similar devices 30, passed through the eyes and thereby maintain the sides and top securely in position. The vertical ends of the sides 12 and the adjacent ends of the ends 16 are provided respectively with loops or eyes 31 and 32 that aline when the crate is erected and by means of keys or pins 30 the ends and sides of the crate are securely held -in operative position. It will thus be seen that a simple, secure, and quickly operated means is provided for securing the crate in erected position and which will as' quickly enable the crate to be collapsed, it being only necessary to remove the keys or pins and fold the ends and sides over the bottom. These keys or pins being very cheap, it is not necessary to retain them nor return them with the crate.

When it is desired to divide the crate to hold poultry of different kinds or for other reasons, a rectangular frame 33 similar to the sides and ends and covered with wire netting is hinged at 34 to the bottom 10, and is connected to the nettino' of the top frame 19 by loops or rings 35,1)y means of which the partition is maintained in vertical position when the crate is erected and which will fold downwardly with the top when the crate is collapsed. Av crate such as described, after the poultry which has been shipped therein has been disposed of, may be collapsed, if it is desired to return the same tothe shipper, by removing the pins or keys 30 from the eyes that'connect the sides to the ends and the former to the top. The top frame 20 is then folded over upon the top frame 19 and the end 16 at the end of the coop, corresponding with the frame 20, is folded inwardly upon the bottom 10. The top frame 19 with the other end of the coop 16 and the partition 38 hinged thereto is then folded downwardly upon the bottom 10 and the previously folded end 16, after which the two sides 12 are folded upon the top and the parts secured by a piece of heavy string, a light rope, or wire bound around the folded portion of the'coop. In this condition the vertical dimensions of the coop are slight and a number of them may be piled one on the other and occupy no more space in a car than a single coop when erected. By this means it will be readily understood that return freight charges on the coop is much less than would be the case if the latter were returned in uncollapsed condition. Furthermore, by folding these coops, there is less liability to injury and to breakage than would be the case when erected, as several sides and ends being folded are more compact and are held more rigidly by their close arrangement.

What I claim is- 1. A crate comprising a bottom, sides and ends hinged to said bottom and foldable inwardly thereon, a top formed of two'. frames hinged together, one of said frames being hinged to one of the vends of the crate', a spring between the two frames of the crate top, eyes or loops on the ends and sides adapted to aline when said parts are in elevated position, similar eyes or loops on the sides and oneV of the top frames which also aline when the parts are in erected position, pins or keys adapted to engage said eyes or loops to hold the crate in erected position, and a spring hinged door in each frame of the crate top.

2. A shipping crate comprising a bottom sides and ends hinged to said bottom and adapted to fold inwardly thereon, a top hinged at one of its ends to one end of said crate, a transverse partition hinged to the bottom, loops flexibly connecting the partition to the top, said partition and top adapted to fold with the sides and ends when the crate is collapsed, and alining fastenings on the several foldable parts adapted to be connected together to hold the crate erected.

3. A shipping crate comprising a bottom, sides and ends hinged to the bottom and adapted to be folded over the same, a top hinged to one of said ends and foldable therewith, said top being formed of two sections hinged together, a door hinged toeach top section, and a springV for maintaining each door in closed position, and a like spring between the two sections of the top.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE n. WHITE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. 0. 

